Canton to pay $25,000 to settle federal civil rights lawsuit

CANTON – The city will pay $25,000 to resolve a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by a protester who was arrested after cursing at a city police officer.

Destinee Jackson , an activist and content creator from Plain Township who is known as Destinee Stark on social media, sued the city in April in U.S. District Court for violating her civil rights when Canton police officers arrested her in April 2022 while she was attending a public protest to oppose Canton police's fatal shooting of James Williams .

The lawsuit was filed against the city, six named Canton police officers and other unnamed officers. The named officers include Capt. Lester Marino and Sgt. Bryan McWilliams, who Jackson listed as the officers involved in her arrest; patrolmen Anthony Angelo and Joseph Bays, whom Jackson said did not intervene to stop the arrest; and Capt. Lisa Broucker and Chief John Gabbard because Jackson said the supervisors failed to take action or impose reasonable discipline for the officers’ behavior.

According to the lawsuit, city officers arrested Jackson and another protester who cursed at them after they warned the protesters to stop using chants with expletives because families were nearby.

Jackson, who had sought at least $500,000 from the city, accused officers of violating her First Amendment guarantee of free speech when they arrested her for the content of her speech. She said officers then violated her Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable search and seizure when they handcuffed her without a lawful basis for the arrest.  A Canton Municipal Court magistrate found Jackson not guilty of the disorderly conduct charge in September 2022, following multiple court appearances and a trial that lasted roughly six hours.

Jackson said she is grateful to reach the settlement and close a chapter of her life that has consumed her for the past two years and drained her mentally, emotionally and financially.

“Some might think this settlement is ‘justice,’ but I disagree,” she said. “For me, justice would have been holding everyone involved in my unlawful arrest and malicious prosecution accountable instead of rewarding most of them with promotions. Justice would have been the city of Canton acknowledging their wrongdoing instead of them trying to buy my silence.

"My attorneys at DiCello Levitt fought incredibly hard for me to be able to share my story publicly, on my own terms, in whatever way I see fit. My voice is non-negotiable. My silence was never for sale. And I am pleased that we could at least come to an agreement on that.”

Under the settlement agreement, Jackson’s legal team — but not Jackson herself — agreed to refrain from making disparaging comments about the city or named officers related to Jackson's arrest.

Neither side admitted to wrongdoing as part of the settlement, which The Canton Repository obtained through a public records request.

Canton Law Director Jason Reese did not respond to a message seeking comment.

Reach Canton Repository staff writer Kelli Weir at 330-580-8339 or kelli.weir@cantonrep.com .

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Canton to pay $25,000 to settle federal civil rights lawsuit